The present invention relates generally to radiograph viewers and more specifically to a radiograph viewer having a detection system for activating and deactivating the light source of the viewer.
Radiograph or x-ray viewers are used by medical and dental professionals to illuminate radiographs and x-rays for viewing. A conventional film viewer includes a housing with a flat screen, a light source within the housing that can illuminate the screen, and a securing device to secure the radiographs to the screen. When the viewer is illuminated, the detail of a radiograph or film can be more clearly seen by a technician.
Generally, the light source of conventional viewers is not energized when the viewer is not in use, requiring the technician to manually energize the viewer to use it and manually de-energize the viewer when finished using it. This inconvenience to the technician, which may be a dentist, radiologist, or other medical professional, distracts from the task of interpreting the information contained in the film. One attempt to address this inconvenience has been to provide automatic switching mechanisms to energize/deenergize the viewer. One drawback associated with many automatic switching mechanisms is the cost and reliability of the components.
What is needed, therefore, is a radiograph viewer with an automatic illumination function that is reliable and affordable.